South Vietnam Summary

Hello Saigon! No struggles at the border this time and our bus actually dropped us off in the city center near the backpacker district. At the end of the war (referred to here as the American War) the city was rebranded Ho Chi Minh City but the city center where we stayed was still referred to as Saigon. Accommodation in Saigon is interesting, they call themselves mini-hotels and the buildings are usually 4-5 floors tall with 10-12 rooms total. Inevitably we end up being shown the rooms on the top floors as we lug our bags around checking out what we can get for our money. At least we get in a small leg workout!

The city center of Saigon is quite welcoming to travelers. There is plenty of accommodation for around $10 a night, street food and beer, parks, supermarkets, transportation, pretty much everything you need. We settled in our room and hit the streets in search of some food and drink. Vietnamese sandwiches can be found at street stands for around 60 cents and street beer, referred to locally as 'Bia Hoi', can be had for a quarter. Needless to say, I have enjoyed many 85 cent sandwich/bia hoi combos. Vietnam is also friendly to vegetarians, you simply look for the word 'chay' as part of the restaurant title and you know they will have some vegetarian fare on their menu, although the preparation and sanitation is sometimes questionable.

Most of the sites around Saigon are related to the Vietnam War. First we made a trip to the Reunification Palace to view the actual site where the gate crashed and 'Saigon Fell' in April 1975, the same day the last Americans were airlifted from the US Embassy. Then we headed across the street to the War Remnants museum. Inside the entrance gate we were greeted by a plethora of Vietnam era American planes, jets and helicopters. It struck me a little odd that there were no Vietnamese vehicles on display. Inside we found two floors containing displays, stories and artifacts from the war. There was no doubt a lot of thought put into the displays and they effectively told the stories intended. The odd thing was each display concentrated on something the American soldiers did that was wrong or controversial (killing of civilians, agent orange, burning of villages, rapes). It was one story and display after another. I expected to reach the part of the museum that told of the Viet Cong side of the story, what their side did right/wrong, how they succeeded in certain battles, who their key leaders were, etc but those displays never came. I realize actions and decisions were made during the war by US soldiers (and Viet Cong) that were not correct/ethical, whether obvious at the time or now in hindsight. But I also understand it was a war environment. Even given we were in Saigon, it did seem a little odd that this building was labeled 'war remnants' but it seemed only to shed poor light on the US forces.

The next day we took a tour about an hour outside the city to the Cu Chi tunnels, built by the Viet Cong fighters during the war. We managed to view the tunnels, although our guide stated that 'fat Americans might not make it', and took in some propaganda films of the war. The ingenuity and resourcefulness of the people during the war was quite impressive, everything from how they prepared their meals to the tactics they used to evade American troops in the dense jungle. Before we headed back to the city center we had a side trip to the gun range (Colleen loved it!) so that any wanting persons could fire off some war era munitions(needless to say we DID NOT take part).

With Saigon behind us we headed out to the beach town of Mui Ne for three days. We had hoped to get in some time in the sand and maybe try some kite surfing but the weather had different ideas. We are still in the monsoon season for another month and although we had patches of blue skies, it was mixed with gusts of wind, rain and heavy surf. We rented bikes for a day and did a ride down the coast stopping at roadside stands along the way and ending at a microbrewery we had seen on the way into town. From Mui Ne it was an overnight bus trip north to the historical port town of Hoi An. Our bus was interesting as we had reserved individual sleeper beds but as the bus arrived we were informed that we would be sharing a 5 person bed at the rear of the bus with 3 locals. Luckily Colleen was able to secure a window while my body created a protective barrier from the overweight shirtless man next to us and we arrived at Hoi An 18 hours later.

Hoi An has turned out to be an amazing little town to spend time in. Historically a port town, it is now known for its tailors and custom clothing shops. Colleen picked up a handbag while I had a tailored suit made (have to look good for job interviews upon returning home) and snatched up some new board shorts. We have been continuing our daily runs, working up to 5K jaunts in the sweltering heat. It has been nice to get some regular exercise outside of our flip flop walking excursions around cities. After 3 nights, we are now waiting for a taxi to transport us 45 minutes north to the metropolis of Danang (historically it is where the first American troops landed) where we will catch an 18 hour overnight train to Hanoi and our first taste of North Vietnam.